


Love is For the Birds

by ericsonclan



Series: OG World [37]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25316440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Clementine and Aspen go on a bird-watching date.
Relationships: Anali/Willy (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine (Walking Dead)/Original Male Character(s)
Series: OG World [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815361
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KingOfClubs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingOfClubs/gifts).



> (by Laura)

Aspen woke up slowly, the sunlight trickling through his window gradually pulling him from his slumber. With a long yawn, he stretched out, feeling his joints protest slightly. Even after a full night’s rest they were still a bit sore. At least he wouldn’t be walking around that much today. All he had was meal prep with Omar, helping Ruby harvest some of the vegetables from the garden, and-

 _Shit._ Aspen realized, his eyes widening. _Clem and I are going outside the gates today! Is she already waiting for me?_ Hurriedly he rose from his bed, pulling on his worn-out boots and bending to get through the doorway. If only his whole room could have been built to his size. It wasn’t like Ericson housed a lot of 7’5” kids before the apocalypse. At least he had the comfort of a properly sized bed though. He had to remember to count his blessings.

As he hurried along the walkway toward the main gate, Aspen spotted Louis walking along. The dreadlocked boy saw him as well, turning to him with a smile. “Hey, Aspen. What’s the hurry?”

“Oh, uh, I… Clem,” Aspen managed.

Louis’ face brightened. “That’s right, you guys have that date today! Aasim and I will be heading out on hunting duty pretty soon too. If we see you, we’ll be sure to keep our distance,” he gave a playful wink that almost made Aspen die of embarrassment right there and then. “Hey, are you free tonight to work on our song again? I think I’ve got the melody down pat this time, so no more awkward pauses!” Louis pulled proudly on the collar of his coat.

“That sounds nice. I’ll probably have time. Right after dinner?”

“I’ll jot your name down in my planner,” Louis quipped, pretending to scribble upon his hand. “See you later then – have fun!”

“Thanks!” With an awkward wave, Aspen was back on his way. The front yard wasn’t very busy at this time of day. He spotted Violet sitting up on the wall as she usually did. They shared a noncommittal nod as he passed. Aspen couldn’t believe Violet had still found a way to climb up to her old spot. The thought of climbing up there was scary enough before; it seemed it would only be scarier now with her limited eyesight. To each their own though.

Rosewood was pushing A.J. on the tire swing, something the youngster seemed to be thoroughly enjoying. “Higher, higher!” he called, kicking his feet to help boost himself further into the air. Rosewood caught Aspen’s eye, offering a friendly wave before returning to their task. Aspen was glad to see them smiling again. It’d be a hard couple months for them with everything that happened with the Delta…

“Faster, Willy!” His sister’s laugh broke out behind him, causing Aspen to turn around to see what was going on. Cedar was flying across the yard in her new wheelchair, being pushed by Willy as he sprinted behind. Their hair blew back in the wind as they made a sharp turn, barreling toward Aspen. “Aspen!” Cedar exclaimed, her smile wide as the wheelchair screeched to a halt in front of him. “Look what Willy just added: a seatbelt! That way even if we slip while racing I’ll still be safe and secure,” She looked up into her brother’s eyes for confirmation, her own green ones bright with excitement.

Aspen was still worried by the whole “racing” part of things, but he could tell how happy it made Cedar. Rather than comment on the safety of it all, he merely smiled and nodded. “It looks cool,”

“I was working all night to add improvements!” Willy jumped in, his gap teeth prominent as he beamed proudly at his work. “The whole wheelchair is stronger now, so it can take a hit, and check it out…” He pulled a lever on the back of the chair and a series of pointed stakes shot upward along both sides of the wheelchair. “Chair spikes! Nobody’s gonna be able to get to Cedar in this!”

“Those are cool, Willy, but maybe keep them down while you two are racing around,” Aspen noted.

“Oh, right!” Willy pulled the lever again and the spikes fell. “They’re only gonna be used for emergencies, promise!”

 _Hopefully we won’t have any of those for a while._ “Well, you guys have fun. I’ve gotta find Clem,”

Cedar nodded towards the admin building. “We saw her about five minutes ago talking over something with Aasim. She’s probably still up there,”

“Thanks. I’ll see you two later,” As Aspen headed towards the admin building, he wondered what Clementine had been meeting with Aasim about. Probably a strategy meeting given that Aasim was the de facto leader of Ericson now. Approaching the steps, Aspen was pleasantly surprised to find Clementine starting to make her way down them herself.

A smile broke out on her face when she saw him. “Aspen! Sorry, have you been waiting long?”

Aspen shook his head. “Nah, I just got out here,” His eyes latched onto the book in Clementine’s hands. “What’s that?”

Clementine grinned, slipping the book behind her back. “Well, I checked with Aasim since he has a running inventory on everything at Ericson to see if he knew if the library had any books on bird watching and…” She lifted the book up proudly. “He gave me an encyclopedia on all the birds in West Virginia! We’re about to be the best bird-watching duo ever!”

“Holy shit,” Aspen breathed, reaching out to take the book. “I can’t believe I never thought to ask about that,”

“It was actually Omar’s idea at first. I was telling him what we were planning for our date and he said the library might’ve had something on birds that could help us,”

The book looked tiny within Aspen’s hands. He was able to flip open the cover, but the pages beneath were another story. They were that thin, silky kind that was usually used on Bibles and such. Aspen was surprised it hadn’t been discovered and rolled up into cigarettes back when there were still kids who smoked around here.  
A grunt of frustration escaped his lips, causing Clementine to look up with a sympathetic smile. 

Getting on her tiptoes, she gently plucked the book from his hands. “How about I narrate the book and you lead the expedition? You’re the one with the expert birdwatching eyes anyway.

“Well, OK then,” Aspen looked towards the front gates. “You ready to head out?”

“Yep, let’s go!”

It was a short walk to the front gates and then they were out in the world. As Aspen closed the gate behind them, he looked down at Clementine’s prosthetic worriedly. It had only been a few short months that she’d had it on. He knew the first couple prosthetics had hurt like hell when she wore them, but Clementine had been adamant: she wanted to get off of her crutches as soon as possible. _We’ll make it a short walk,_ Aspen told himself. There was no way Clementine would let him know if she was in pain and he wasn’t risking her receiving any further injuries for the sake of her pride.

“Caught you,” Clementine gave a rueful smile.

Aspen looked away in shame. “Sorry. I won’t mention it,”

“It feels fine today,”

Aspen studied her eyes, hoping he knew her well enough to be certain of the truthfulness of her words.

“I promise,”

“I trust you,”

The happiness in Clementine’s eyes told him he’d made the right choice. They walked alongside each other, Aspen keeping his eye out for birds as Clementine leafed through the book. Suddenly a giggle escaped her lips. “Man, I really hope we come across a dickcissel. That has to be the funniest name I’ve seen yet,”

“Can I see?” Aspen glanced down at the book, studying the illustration Clementine pointed to as she held the book up towards him. It was a small, sparrow-sized bird with brown markings and a bright yellow chest. “Oh, I’ve seen those before. They tend to hide out in the tall grass. Never knew what they were called though,”

“Well, keep your eyes peeled,” Clementine continued to leaf through the book. “I want to be able to tell A.J. each and every bird we saw when we get back for dinner tonight,”

They continued their walk, not coming across anything too interesting. A few crows crossed overhead and Clementine flipped to the section on crows, choosing the fish crow which seemed to match the birds they’d seen best and reading what she found out loud. “When fish crows find a good source of food, they may cache the surplus for later. These hiding places can be in grass, in clumps of Spanish moss, or in crevices in tree bark,”

“Maybe we should try to follow them and see if they lead us to their secret stash,”

Clementine wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. “If they’re storing fish inside trees, I bet it taste like shit,”

“Just cause they’re called fish crows doesn’t mean they only eat fish,” Aspen rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Here, lemme see that for a second,” He held the book up closer to his face so he could make out the tiny words. “See? It says here that they’re ‘supreme generalists, eating just about anything they can find’,”

“Guess you’ve got a point then. We could use as much food as possible back at the school,”

Aspen fumbled with his fingers. He knew Clementine was thinking of him. She always worried that he wasn’t getting enough and often tried to force her food on him. He wouldn’t take it though. Clem was way too skinny as it was. She needed the food just as much as he did. Fishing in his pocket, Aspen decided to change the subject by focusing on something else. He soon found his bird whistle, one he had made for himself out of some foam he found in the old art room and a piece of one of the medical gloves from the nurse’s office. Placing the instrument against his tongue, he waited a few seconds for it to soak up some of his saliva before positioning it at the tip of his tongue and lightly blowing past his lips. A shrill whistle pierced the air, followed by a series of short trills.

Clementine looked up at him proudly. She was always impressed at how many whistles Aspen had mastered. The first time he’d shown her, things hadn’t gone as smoothly though. Clementine had reached for his hand and Aspen had choked mid-whistle, swallowing the instrument and devolving into a coughing fit. It wasn’t a big deal; it was easy to make another. This time though, Aspen made sure the whistle was firmly lodged at the tip of his tongue before reaching out for his girlfriend’s hand.

Clementine seemed to enjoy the gesture. She leaned against his arm for a moment, humming happily to herself before her eyes suddenly widened. Pressing a finger to her lips, she caught Aspen’s eye. There just a dozen yards from them was a full-grown rabbit. Clementine had come prepared. Pulling the bow from behind her back, she notched an arrow, barely breathing as she steadied her aim. The arrow flew and hit the rabbit dead center. It flopped lifeless to the ground. Clementine hurried over to retrieve it. “Looks like dinner’s on us!”

“I can carry it,” Aspen offered. Clementine handed it to him and he threw it over his left shoulder. He had enough experience toting wild game that he wouldn’t need a hand to steady it. Instead his hand returned to Clementine’s completely enveloping hers as the couple continued to walk along.

They saw several more species of birds throughout their date and thanks to the encyclopedia were able to identify most of them. Boreal chickadees, Smith’s longspur, Kirtland’s warbler… Clem dog-eared each page that contained a bird they had spotted so that they’d be able to share each and every one with the group tonight. Aspen’s whistles, trills and warbles had birds flitting over to nearby branches, tittering back at him.

“So, do the birds think you’re like, flirting with them?” Clementine asked. “That’s why birds make calls, right? To attract mates?”

Aspen shrugged. “Hell if I know. I can make the calls. Doesn’t mean I know what they mean,”

“I suppose I have nothing to be jealous about then,” Clementine teased, dog-earing another one of the pages. “That one looks to be a Western kingbird. The book says they defend their territory with “wing-fluttering, highly vocal” attacks, so let’s try not to piss it off,”

“Birds are pretty chill for the most part,” Aspen replied. “You leave them alone, and they do the same for you,”

“Is that why you like them?”

“Yeah, and, y’know, music,” Aspen looked up towards the sky, studying the horizon. “We should probably be heading back. Don’t want to be out too late,”

“It’s not even near evening,” Clementine protested. “If this is about my leg, I can keep going,”

Aspen smiled down at his girlfriend. She was so cute when she stood her ground like that, hands on her hips, lip set in a pout. Terrifying too under the right circumstances, but in this case she was simply cute. “What if I told you I was the one who needed a break? My joints have been aching since this morning.

That seemed to change Clementine’s mind. She clearly wasn’t fully convinced whether Aspen was faking his claim or not, but she wasn’t going to risk it. “Ok, we’ll head back then,” Still hand in hand, the pair turned to start the journey back to the school.

By the time they returned, there were still a couple hours before nightfall. That didn’t make Aspen regret his decision in the least though. Clementine had started to fade a bit on the way back, her brow furrowing in concentration and her breathing growing heavier. She tried her best to mask it, but Aspen could still hear it. He didn’t say anything though. He knew she’d refuse any help he offered, and it was good enough that she’d agreed to head back. He was glad though when he felt her leaning just a bit more upon his arm, a silent agreement to accept his support in some small way.

The front yard was fairly quiet as they stepped inside the gates. Omar waved to them from the watchtower. “Looks like you guys caught something,”

“Yep,” Clementine smiled proudly. “Another rabbit to add to tonight’s stew along with whatever Lou and Aasim bring back,”

“I’ll be ready to help with dinner prep soon, Omar,” Aspen added. “Just gotta drop a few things off in the room first,”

Omar nodded. “Willy’s on watch next so as soon as he comes out I’ll get to work on preparing the stock. You’ll be on vegetable prep,”

“Sounds good. See you in a few,” Aspen and Clementine walked off together, meandering toward the dorm rooms.

“Clem, Clem!” A.J. ran forward excitedly, practically tackling Clementine with a hug. “You’re back! Did you see anything cool? Did you catch any birds?”

Clementine chuckled, ruffling A.J.’s hair. “The goal wasn’t to catch the birds, goofball, just to watch them. We have a book though that we’ll show everybody after dinner. It’s got pictures of all the birds we spotted,”

A.J.’s eyes leapt to the book in Aspen’s hand. “Is it that one? Lemme see!” He jumped for it, but Aspen quickly lifted it out of his reach.

“Sorry, squirt, you’ll have to wait till after dinner just like everybody else,”

A.J. pouted, an expression that Aspen was pleasantly surprised to see matched Clementine’s own pout quite well. Before either of them could say anything further though, an almost imperceptible groan left Clementine’s mouth.

“Clem? You OK?” A.J. asked, eyes wide.

“We’re getting you inside,” Aspen declared, a hand moving down to circle round her waist.

“I’m fine, you two, just… I should probably sit down for a while,”

“We’ll head to your room first,” Gently, Aspen guided Clementine forward. A.J. circled round to her other side, his own hand coming up alongside Aspen’s to support Clementine. It was clear she had reached her limit. Aspen internally cursed himself for not insisting they turn back sooner. Thankfully it wasn’t too long of a walk before they reached Clementine and A.J.’s room. Ducking to get inside, Aspen made sure Clementine was securely seated on the bed before kneeling down to remove her prosthetic. The buckles were a bit fidgety in his large hands, but he was able to manage them well enough to pull the prosthetic off. He leaned it against Clementine’s dresser where it would be easy to reach.

“Thanks,” Clementine breathed, clearly exhausted. “I think I’m just gonna lay down for a bit, close my eyes. You don’t have to stay, A.J., just let me know once dinner is ready,”

A.J. seemed hesitant to go, but nodded, quickly leaving the room without another word.

Clementine turned back to Aspen who was still kneeling before her. “You can go too,” Her hand reached up to play lightly with his sandy brown hair. “I know you have things to do,”

“I’ll finish them as soon as I can,” Aspen’s eyes searched hers for signs of pain. “You’re sure you’ll be alright?”

“I’m sure,” Clementine held his gaze for a few seconds before leaning forward. Her lips grazed his in a soft kiss. 

Aspen felt his face heat up at the gesture. He wanted to lean in and kiss her again, but Omar was waiting and Clementine was clearly on the verge of falling asleep. Instead he settled for cupping her cheek, her head resting against his hand. “You get some rest, okay? I’ll see you later,”

“Later,” Clementine murmured. 

Aspen slowly lowered her head till it rested upon the pillow. He then rose to his feet, heading back toward the door.

“Aspen?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you,”

Aspen’s heart fluttered within him. “Love you too,” Bending, he made his way into the hall, heading for the stairs. It really had been a wonderful date.


	2. Search for the Bracelets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter I wrote for a trade with king of clubs, this time Willy and Anali!

Willy could tell something was wrong as soon as he saw Anali’s face. Hurrying over to the picnic tables, he plopped down and was about to get straight to the point when he noticed the problem. There was no pink or yellow tinted bracelet on Anali’s arm. Usually there was one or the other but today it was bare. Without a symbol for the pronouns of the day, Willy would have to ask directly. “What are your pronouns today, ‘Nali? And where are the bracelets?”

“She,” Anali murmured, clearly still lost in her own thoughts. “And they’re missing,” Her hands shook nervously, Willy guessed from the stress of being without her bracelets. Anali never went without them. She’d had them since she arrived at Ericson and was quite attached. Besides, if something was lost in this apocalyptic world, chances were you’d never be able to get another.

Willy watched his friend for a moment, his eyebrows sympathetically knit in concern, before standing up with his hands on his hips. “Well then, we just have to find them! The hunt begins!” He was about to speed off in the first direction that struck his fancy when a thought struck him. “Oh, where did you see them last? We should probably start there,”

“I don’t _know_ ,” Anali groaned, carding her fingers through her hair. “I went hunting with Aasim yesterday, came home and helped Omar with dinner and went to bed after Louis’ game night. I didn’t even think to look at my arm that whole time! Stupid! Stupid!” She whacked her head in annoyance as if that would shake the lost memories out into the light.

Willy immediately grabbed her hand to stop her. “If it was a normal day for you, then we’ll just follow your normal route! First we’ll ask Aasim if he’s seen anything. Do you know where he is?”

“Well, he’s not on watch or out hunting so there’s only one other place he could be,”

\---

“Your bracelets?” Aasim looked up from the garden patch he was currently working, wiping away a bead of sweat and leaving a smudge of dirt on his nose in the process. “I didn’t notice they were missing when we went out hunting and I’m sure I would have. Whichever one you’re wearing always clinks while you walk,” He looked over to Ruby who was busy at work picking herbs. “What about you, love? Have you seen them?”

Ruby shook her head, looking up sympathetically at Anali. “Sorry, Sug. I haven’t seen them. But I’ll be sure to keep my eyes out and give you a holler if I spot them!”

Aasim watched Anali with concern, his older brother instincts clearly on alert. “Are you gonna be alright?”

Anali looked unsure but nodded, looking away.

Willy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, we’ve only just started our search!”

\---

Heading back to the front yard, they ran into Omar and Zason who was helping move firewood in preparation for their next meal. Hearing Anali’s predicament, they dropped what they were doing and helped give the area round the cauldron and the firewood a thorough search. No luck. Zason’s usually cheery expression drooped as he saw Anali’s distress. “If you like, I could try to gather some craft supplies and make you new bracelets. I promise they’d be totally awesome! We could add beads, glitter-”

“No,” Anali shook her head, her hands fidgeting once more. “Thanks, but… it just wouldn’t be the same. I need _those_ bracelets,”

“And I’m sure you’ll find them,” Omar replied calmly, his voice as soothing as always. “Zason and I will keep looking for them wherever we go,”

Willy nodded, gently taking Anali’s hand once more. “Thanks, guys! We’ll see you around!”

\---

On their way through the yard they stopped to inform A.J. who was on lookout duty of the missing bracelets as well. The boy seemed excited at the thought of a scavenger hunt for the bracelets, but his guard duty came first and foremost. He solemnly promised to look as hard as he could as soon as his shift was over. Thanking AJ for his future assistance, the pair headed toward the school to continue their search.

On their way there, they spotted Clementine and Violet up on top of the belltower. Willy ran up towards the structure, cupping his hands over his mouth and calling out. “Hey! Have either of you seen Anali’s bracelets?”

Both girls leaned forward from their spots seated on the edge of the tower. They looked confused and called back in unison, “What?”

“BRACELETS!”

“Baking mitts?!” Clementine shouted.

“That can’t be fucking right,” Violet retorted.

“BRACE-LETS!!”

“Mace kits?”

“Clem, how could that possibly be it?”

Willy looked down, feeling dejected. The conversation was going nowhere. This time it was Anali that took his hand. “We can ask them later once they climb down. Let’s move on for now,”

“Willy nodded, a small smile crossing his face. If Anali wasn’t giving up, then he wasn’t either.

\---

The pair scoured the entire front yard. The tire swing, the graves, the picnic tables, they searched them all. The bracelets were nowhere to be found. With no success outside, they headed inside to the dorms. They tore apart Anali’s room searching for the bracelets then checked Aasim’s room, Ruby’s, anywhere they might have been accidentally dropped. The results of the search of the rooms and hallways was the same: zilch. Wearied by their continued failures, Willy and Anali headed toward the admin building. Perhaps their luck would change there. And there was still one last person to ask.

Entering the main hall, the pair could hear the sound of familiar piano music. They headed toward the music room together, cracking open the door to find Louis completely absorbed in playing one of his newest songs. Walking into the room, both of them waited for Louis to finish up so they could ask him about the bracelets. But the song just kept going and going. Willy started to wonder if it had looped and Louis was planning to play the same song for the entire day. Unable to wait any longer, Anali tapped Louis’ shoulder. He let out a startled yelp, his arms flailing. Before either of them could catch him, Louis had lost his balance and fallen off the piano bench.

“Sorry!” Anali exclaimed, wringing her hands in contrition. “We didn’t mean to scare you, but we’re looking for my bracelets. Have you seen them?”

Louis waved off the apology, a good-natured smile on his face. Sitting up, he signed a single word – “couch”.

Willy shook his head. “We already checked the couches outside. They weren’t there,”

Louis looked surprise at that answer. He signed more, looking between the two of them. “Anali took the bracelets off for the game. Maybe they’re under the pillows or on the ground?”

“That’s right!” Anali’s eyes widened at the memory. “I did take them off for that one game, the one where we all held hands and tried to untangle ourselves. But I put them back on right after! Or at least, I thought I did…”

“Let’s go outside and check again!” Willy was off like a shot, Anali right behind him. With a confirmed location for the missing bracelets, they searched the couches with renewed vigor. They pulled up the pillows, flipped over the couches to check underneath, even dug through the firepit with some half-burnt sticks. Still nothing. They had searched everywhere, asked everyone. The bracelets were nowhere to be found.

Anali plopped down on the edge of an overturned couch, her head lowered in despair. “If they’re not here or the yard or the dorms, they must be outside. And that means they’re lost for good,”

“No, it doesn’t!” Willy declared, unwilling to give up. “If they’re outside the walls, then they must be along the hunting path you and Aasim took. We’ll head out tomorrow at first light, retrace your steps and find them right where they fell off. Just wait and see!”

Anali looked up at Willy, offering a weak smile before her eyes turned to the sky. It was staring to grow dark out, the sun beginning its daily descent. They had wasted almost an entire day searching for the bracelets.

“Guys! Guys! Guys!!!” A.J.’s voice brought their attention back to the yard. He was running toward them, elated and almost out of breath. Coming to a stuttering halt in front of them, A.J. paused to catch his breath before beaming up at the older kids. “I did it! I spotted Anali’s bracelets!”

Willy’s eyes practically bugged out at that news. “What? Where?”

“They’re up in a nest on a tree by the wall! A bird must’ve seen them and thought they were cool. C’mon!” Without waiting to see if they were following A.J. ran off. Anali and Willy jogged after him, following A.J. up the guard tower where he had temporarily left his post in the excitement of his discovery. Picking up the binoculars, A.J. looked through them once more to find the location of the bracelets once more then handed them off to Anali. “They’re right over in that tree!”

Anali guided the binoculars where A.J. directed. A smile broke out on her face when she spotted what he had. “They are there! Right over in that tree!”

Willy let out a whoop of celebration. “I knew we could do it!” Then he paused. It was late, beyond the time the older kids had said was wise to go beyond the walls. He could wait till tomorrow and shimmy up the tree to get the bracelets, but after searching for so long and knowing exactly where they were, he didn’t want to make Anali wait that long. Borrowing the binoculars, Willy looked over at the tree. It wasn’t that far from the wall. Maybe if they just…

\---

“Willy, Anali what in tarnation are you doing?” Ruby’s voice was taut with anger and fear as she watched the pair atop the wall, Anali holding onto the seat of Willy’s pants as Willy dangled precariously off the edge and reached out towards the nest.

“We’ll just be a minute, Ruby!” Willy called back. “We’re getting Anali’s bracelets!”

“Anali, Willy,” Aasim’s voice was firm. “You get down from there this instant. It’s not safe!”

“He’s almost got it!” Anali called back, glancing down at her brother before gasping as her grip on Willy’s pants slipped. She quickly corrected it, holding Willy’s shirt as well as his pants now, but not before earning the horrified gasps of everyone inside the yard.

“Guys, Aasim’s right!” Zason called, standing directly beneath the wall and looking deeply concerned. “It’s too dangerous. Besides, you could’ve asked me for help! I have long arms!”

“You would have dropped straight off of the wall and splatted on the ground,” Omar replied dryly. “A walker pancake,”

“I’m gonna help too!” A.J. declared, crawling up from the watchtower onto the wall.

“Like hell you are!” Clementine shouted, racing forward to stop him.

Willy stretched his arm as far as he possibly could, ignoring all the chaos in order to focus on his goal. He could almost reach the bracelets. He was half an inch away, maybe less. “Anali, let go of my pants! Just hold my shirt!”

“Seriously?!”

“Just for a second! Trust me!” He could tell Anali was hesitating, but a moment later amidst all the shouting and screaming, she did just that. Letting go of Willy’s pants, she held onto his shirt alone. Willy immediately dropped farther forward, his face hovering directly above the nest. The bracelets were in reach! Thrusting his hand forward, Willy snatched them both up. “Now pull me back!” He was yanked back all too fast, his arms flailing just as Louis’ had minutes ago. “Woah!!”

But Anali was ready to break his fall. Her hands wrapped round his waist, she helped steady Willy, making sure they were both stable before letting go.

“Nice, catch, ‘Nali!” Willy spun round with a bright smile, holding out his hand. “Tada!!! Told you we’d find them!” In his hand was the pair of bracelets, one pink one yellow, their tinted metal glimmering faintly in the waning light.

Anali looked at them in wonder, as if not believing they were really there. Then she snatched both of them up, placing one on each arm. Her hands were shaking again, but this time it was with joy. “We did it! We really did it!”

“I told ya!” Willy threw his arms round Anali, jumping up and down with elation. “We did it! We did it!”

“Get down from that wall NOW!” Aasim bellowed, his tone deadly serious.

The pair stopped in their merrymaking, offering apologetic waves down to Anali’s very concerned older brother before making their way back toward the watchtower to get down to the ground. Their hands were linked as they walked, Anali in front and Willy behind her. Willy felt his heart swell with pride at the sight of the bracelets gently clinking on Anali’s arms. It had been a crazy, frustrating, seemingly hopeless day. But in the end, it had all been worth it. Anali had her bracelets back.


End file.
